Everything you need to know about the mountain bike events taking place in Glentress, just an hour away from Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders’ Tweed Valley.
Scotland awaits. The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, taking place between 3 and 13 August, will see 13 separate UCI World Championships play out in one beautiful festival of cycling. Glentress Forest in the Tweed Valley will host some of the world’s greatest mountain bikers…
Quintet of mountain-bike formats
The UCI World Championships for cross-country marathon (XCM) will take place on 6 August, while the battles for the rainbow jerseys in cross-country short track (XCC), cross-country team relay (XCR), E-mountain bike cross-country (E-MTB) and cross-country Olympic (XCO) will be contested from 8 to 12 August.
Glentress goes down in mountain-bike folklore as one of Scotland’s original trail centres, one of the 7Stanes (Scots for stones) in the south of the country. With over 80km of purpose-made trails for riders of all abilities and a nearby mountain-bike centre in Innerleithen, it’s the most visited tourist attraction in the Scottish Borders.
The world’s best can expect leg-burning climbs through dense fir-wood forests that eventually give way to jaw-dropping views of the Tweed Valley. That brief moment of ethereal serenity will soon give way to swooping switchback descents that include a taxing mix of jumps, tabletops and fast-flowing berms. Here’s a little more on what’s happening and when…
Cross-country marathon, 6 August
The mountain-bike marathon starts at Traquair House, which is Scotland’s oldest inhabited house, and has witnessed extraordinary events in Scotland’s history for over 900 years. The mountain bikers will have to dig deep as they face 96.5km km of lung-busting terrain (3200m elevation).
Cross-country short track, 8and 10 August
Sustained anaerobic efforts, huge power outputs and fearless racing’s required in the fast-and-frantic XCC, which will see qualification (depending on the number of entries) on 8 August followed by the finals two days later. The 900m lap provides a test of skill and speed, and will see riders at their limits for an intense 20 minutes.
Cross-country team relay, 9 August
National teams of six take it in turns to complete laps, with the tactical choice of deciding the order of riders adding spice to the spectacular racing.
E-mountain bike cross-country, 9 August
Riders will do battle over a 3.72km course with 162m of elevation. It is a similar parcours that the XCO competitors will face the following day, with one major difference: at times they’ll be assisted by battery-powered motors. It’s why the organisers have laid out a few more technical sections to maximise this extra pedal-assisted juice.
Cross-country Olympic, 10-12 August 2023
The world’s most powerful XCO riders will complete a set amount of laps as fast as they can. Races last for over an hour, so endurance and mental fortitude are pre-requisites. The Junior, Under 23 and Elite races take place on 10, 11 and 12 August, respectively.
Memorable racing… memorable views
The thousands of spectators can expect thrilling racing but not only. On top of the action, they will be enthralled by the panoramas from several magical viewpoints dotted around Glentress. Among these is the Forth of Firth, home to the legendary Forth Bridge. Opened in 1890, it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world until 1919 and was voted Scotland’s greatest manmade wonder in 2016. Bird-watchers are also in for a treat as the avian life in the Tweed Valley is astounding. Keep an eye out for the stunning ospreys that soar to great heights in this area.
Talking reaching great heights, those seeking next-level performance will include mountain-bike legend Nino Schurter, who many regard as the greatest cross-country racer of all time. The 37-year-old Swiss rider is a 10-time UCI World Champion and will be defending his 2022 title in Glentress.
The versatile Tom Pidcock (GBR), who won XCO gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, could also be in Glentress. According to Ineos Grenadiers Sports Director Kurt Bogaerts, the 23-year-old’s looking to exchange slicks for knobbles depending on his condition after the next few weeks of racing. “It is currently the intention that Tom will only do mountain biking in Glasgow,” Bogaerts recently told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. “But that decision is not final. A lot will depend on how he comes out of the Tour.”
On the women’s side, Pidcock’s Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will be looking to add to her multiple UCI World titles, which include an incredible hat-trick of victories at last year’s UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships in Haderslev, Denmark. Also look out for the Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse who won the European Championships earlier this season. And Evie Richards will look to channel the energy of the partisan British crowd and reclaim the cross-country rainbow jersey she won in Val di Sole, Italy, two years ago.
Glentress has welcomed mountain bikers of all abilities for years, its technical climbs and fast-flowing descents providing the sweetspot of physical exertion and psychological exhilaration. Now it’s time for the world’s best to carve their own piece of history into this legendary venue.
Get a preview of the Glentress XCO course in this video presented by Shimano: